Distance 10.5 miles
Climbing 1790 ft
Weather Overcast at first but improving later
Difficulty Moderate
please click on photo to expand
Climbing 1790 ft
Weather Overcast at first but improving later
Difficulty Moderate
please click on photo to expand
Today I had two thing to look forward to, first it was the walk from Keld back to Reeth which would take us through a landscape rich in the industrial remains of the Swaledale lead mining industry. This is an area that I have wanted to explore fore years but never really had the opportunity. The second thing was that today was my 70th birthday. In fact this walk was my birthday present to myself. I knew that Mal & John would mark the day for me but I never expected the bottle of my favourite malt whisky that they bought for me.
After breakfast we left the camp for Keld and as we started the walk we fell in with another group of walkers for a short way, I had the impression that they were using one of the self guided holiday groups ( Packhorse or Sherpa), One guy seemed to be the navigator but seemed undecided which way to go and in the end they opted for a different path to us and that was the last we saw of them. Perhaps the were looking for the low level route along the riverside.
We crossed the Swale using a footbridge and followed the path a little way to a pretty waterfall in East Stonesdale beck, we took a photostop before carrying on to Crackpot Hall, a farm that was abandoned about 60 years ago. The buildings may have been used by a mining company at some time but most of the site is now a ruin. With only one building looking as if it is still in use, perhaps as a barn. We then made our way along to Some more ruined buildings at Swinner Gill and then a little while later there were even more ruins in the valley below us. We somehow found ourselves on the wrong path here and rather than backtrack, we scrambled down a steep slippery slope into ‘Blind Gill’ and along the bed of a stream to Gunnerside Gill where we rejoined the path at Blakenthwaite Mine Buildings. A bit of a scramble up Bunton Hush followed to more level walking over devastated moorland still showing the scars of the mining industry, and then on to Old Gang Mines and Surrender Bridge.
From there we followed a lane which took us into the village of Healaugh where we came across a large party tent erected across a footpath with a lady’s 70th birthday party in progress, (coincidence?) we declined an offer of a drink and made our way down to the river Swale which we followed back to Reeth where we met up with John and had an ice cream sat on the Green before walking the last half mile or so back to the campsite. When we arrived I got quite a surprise when I saw the caravan, John had decorated it with balloons and party stickers, so everyone on the sit knew that it was my 70th.
Later we had a meal in the Black Bull, (compete with birthday cake & candles) followed by a tot of Lagavulin back at the camp and that; rounded of an enjoyable day
After breakfast we left the camp for Keld and as we started the walk we fell in with another group of walkers for a short way, I had the impression that they were using one of the self guided holiday groups ( Packhorse or Sherpa), One guy seemed to be the navigator but seemed undecided which way to go and in the end they opted for a different path to us and that was the last we saw of them. Perhaps the were looking for the low level route along the riverside.
We crossed the Swale using a footbridge and followed the path a little way to a pretty waterfall in East Stonesdale beck, we took a photostop before carrying on to Crackpot Hall, a farm that was abandoned about 60 years ago. The buildings may have been used by a mining company at some time but most of the site is now a ruin. With only one building looking as if it is still in use, perhaps as a barn. We then made our way along to Some more ruined buildings at Swinner Gill and then a little while later there were even more ruins in the valley below us. We somehow found ourselves on the wrong path here and rather than backtrack, we scrambled down a steep slippery slope into ‘Blind Gill’ and along the bed of a stream to Gunnerside Gill where we rejoined the path at Blakenthwaite Mine Buildings. A bit of a scramble up Bunton Hush followed to more level walking over devastated moorland still showing the scars of the mining industry, and then on to Old Gang Mines and Surrender Bridge.
From there we followed a lane which took us into the village of Healaugh where we came across a large party tent erected across a footpath with a lady’s 70th birthday party in progress, (coincidence?) we declined an offer of a drink and made our way down to the river Swale which we followed back to Reeth where we met up with John and had an ice cream sat on the Green before walking the last half mile or so back to the campsite. When we arrived I got quite a surprise when I saw the caravan, John had decorated it with balloons and party stickers, so everyone on the sit knew that it was my 70th.
Later we had a meal in the Black Bull, (compete with birthday cake & candles) followed by a tot of Lagavulin back at the camp and that; rounded of an enjoyable day